Mr. Roysdale Forde, Senior Counsel and Member of Parliament, rejected the apology of People’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary, Mr. Bharrat Jagdeo to the daughter of a dead woman who appeared on the party’s list for the Local Government Elections (LGE).
The PPP has placed the late Cheryl Jacob, of Willemstaad, No. 7 Village West Coast Berbice, as a nominator for a candidate for the Monday, 12th June 2023 elections. After an outcry by the deceased daughter and demand to “FIX IT!!!,” and condemnation from members of the public, Jagdeo reportedly called the daughter and offered an apology.
Forde in an invited comment told Village Voice News whilst recognising the apology to the daughter, the family’s pain and expressed concern about their loved one’s signature being forged on an electoral document, the act constitutes a transgression of the law which must be followed up with an investigation that leads to accountability.
Forde further said, “whilst Mr. Jagdeo’s apology addressed the family’s concern, it skirts the issue of electoral fraud, which is what every Guyanese, including the President Ali government, should be concerned with and keep their eyes on.”
According to Senior Counsel Forde “in my professional opinion as a lawyer, dealing with legal matters, Mr. Jagdeo’s apology to the family is insufficient. There should be an investigation where the guilty party is found and held accountable. Forgery is an illegal act and, in such instance, compromises our electoral system. Everyone must be held accountable to law and violations of law lead to breakdown in society.”
Further, the Senior Counsel reminds the 2022 General and Regional Elections (GRE) Recount unearthed massive problems of forged documentation, absence of statutory documentation, dead people voting, persons not within the jurisdiction on election day voted, among other irregularities, which the PPP benefitted from. “We are seeing a repeat of these problems, on a grander scale even before a vote is cast, and this is only one aspect of the process.”
Whereas this is the only aspect, as evidence in the 2020 GRE, the possibility of more being unearthed is not remote.
There have been several reports by the Opposition, A Partnership of National Unity (APNU), and People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) of unethical behaviours by the PPP in the preparation of their lists for the elections. Last Thursday, Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Aubrey Norton, at a press conference presented evidence of several discrepancies pertaining to electoral irregularities and attributed these to the PPP.
Last December Opposition Chief Scrutineer, Mrs. Carol Smith Joseph, filed a Fixed Date Application (FDA) to the High Court challenging the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) preparation and extraction of the List of Electors for the LGE. In that challenge Joseph sought the court’s declarations GECOM violated the Local Authorities (Elections) Act Cap. 28:03 in several areas; and should the agency fail to comply with the Act, in its entirety, to render the Register of Voters List for LGE “null, void and of no legal effect.”
Some of the evidence presented to the court included the names of dead persons on the list. One such person was Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Mr. Nigel Dharamlall’s sister, Davina Alicia Dharamlall who died more than 10 years ago.
Forde, who is Joseph’s lawyer in the matter, advised the court will deliver its decision on 11th May.
Sources told this publication the LGE are off to a bad start. One commentator said the amount of irregularities is unprecedented and GECOM cannot remain silent in the presence of mounting evidence. A business source said it would be a mistake to think free and fair elections could occur without resolving these matters. The source further advised it would be best to delay the elections until the issues are resolved because Guyana cannot afford another post-election turmoil.
